Before someone else reads the above and thinks I've completely lost all social awareness....
The clutch is disengaged by a small hydraulic cylinder that is linked to the master cylinder for the brakes. (The brake master cylinder is the larger, hence master, and the one which drives the clutch is smaller and linked mechanically/hydraulically to the larger, hence master/slave nomenclatures)
Over time, hydraulic fluid gets contaminated and can get tiny air bubbles in the fluid for a variety of reasons. Hydraulics work because fluids in classical physics do not compress. Air, however, does compress quite nicely. If the bubble of air is large enough, it will interfere with the movement of fluid in the system due to the movement of the piston, compressing the air rather than moving the fluid.
Removal of the air and other contaminants in the system is referred to as bleeding the system.
In the case of the clutch, the entire hydraulic system doesn't need to be bled, just that tiny part of the system.
Hence the term "bleeding the slave". I'm not referring to using a barbaric medical practice on uncompensated household help.
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